Don't be fooled. Inside this thin coating of sweetness is a fiery core of total insanity.

Monday, August 10, 2015

A Visit to Dawnview Gardens

I haven't mentioned it often in my blog, but I'm a member of a Northwest Perennial Alliance neighborhood group called the Petal Pushers. You can read about NPA neighborhood groups here. We meet once a month. We get together to hear a speaker, or to visit a special garden, often accompanied by lunch. Last week we visited a garden called Dawnview, in Shelton, a town near Olympia (the Washington state capital). You can read more about this fabulous private garden here. It's the brainchild/fever dream of Enid Roberts. Enid, a retired kindergarten teacher, has been gardening at Dawnview for only 6 years, but she has accomplished so much! There are currently 5 separate gardens, all enclosed either by walls or fences to keep the deer out.

The first garden we entered was the walled English Garden.

This lovely fountain was just outside the gate into the English Garden.

Just inside, a glimpse of the Bacchus fountain through the trees

A closer look

There were a couple of lush, copiously flowering potted Bougainvillea

And there were roses! Boy, were there roses! Mostly David Austin roses, and all with lovely scents, and many bi-colored, which I'm quite partial to. I love roses, but only in other people's gardens.

And Fuchsias everywhere!

More roses.

There was a raised bed full of the most beautiful Begonias.

We all gasped and exclaimed over this one!

Roses in the English Garden, hanging through the rail, waving "Good-bye!" to us like voyageurs on a ship

And not to be outdone, a Hydrangea as well

The Northwest Garden, fenced rather than walled, was our next destination.

Gorgeous Dahlia, I wish I had asked for its name

There were not many lilies still flowering, but this one near the entrance to the Northwest Garden was huge and triumphant

A couple of daylilies had some final flowers.

That pie-crust edge!

I just loved the mid-rib stripe on this one

There were signs too, of Enid's playful personality, like with this bench

And a deliberate touch of messiness, but just a touch

Clematis seedheads

More roses in the Northwest Garden

Enid likes to work with concrete, using it to make various troughs, pots and pedestals

Everywhere, a carpet of woolly Thyme

There were two beds of seed-sown Zinnias.

We all couldn't fail to notice this one with its huge orange flowers

There were quite a few button-like ones as well, with colorful contrasting centers

Next to the Northwest Garden is the Edibles Garden.

From here, a sweet view of Little Steamboat Island in the Sound

Another Clematis gone to seed

Caged strawberries to keep the birds out

Kale

And cabbage

Besides that great view, there are other aesthetically pleasing design touches.

A mosaic of ground covers under a birdbath

A trickling fountain engulfed by wirevine

The most recently installed garden is the Alpine Garden, much smaller.

Thanks so much to Enid for letting the Petal Pushers visit, and for her friendly, smiling, bubbly, plant-knowledgeable narration of the history of her garden!

Gorgeous, thank you for the tour! Wow. That thyme carpet and groundcover under the birdbath are spectacular. I wonder what her secret for growing the wooly thyme is? Do you happen to know the variety of the orange rose in the first grouping of rose photos?

Gardening is a solitary activity. But blogging about it is a social phenomenon! I don't make money from my blog by advertising, or use it to drive customers to a business. If you liked my post, or my writing or photography, or even just one picture or turn of phrase, I'd love to hear from you. That's how I get paid.

Garden Bloggers Fling Denver Colorado

About Me

My husband and I moved here to Washington state in the Fall of 2008, after more than 25 years living in the same house in Massachusetts. We lived in a rental house here for about a year, and have now bought a house, in August, 2009.
I want my blog to chronicle the process of turning our new yard into the garden of my dreams. One reason I was interested in moving to Washington was for the great gardening. A dream come true!